If you’ve never sprouted beans you’re missing out on a lot of fun, yummies, and nutrition!

As gardeners, we don’t expect instant gratification. No, our gratification timetable falls somewhere between the time it takes to grow a Chia Pet to that of aging fine wine.

We wait months for the complete transformation of a tiny lettuce seed to a ready-to-eat stalk or head of lettuce. That’s pretty much the case for any vegetable. However, with sprouts, the seed-to-table time is accelerated exponentially. Of course, that’s only because we’re not waiting for the seed to become a mature plant producing its fruit. Instead, we help the seed START to grow, and then … toss it in our mouth. Pretty sneaky if you ask me. The little seed doesn’t see it comin’.

There are so many beans you can sprout and toss into dishes. Most often you hear of sprouts being used in salads or stir-fry dishes. I love salads loaded with goodies, and sprouts give my salads variety, extra crunch, additional nutrition, and a little whimsical presentation.5 Reasons to Sprout Beans

Sprouts Are Nutritious.*

Sprouting Allows You to Eat the Beans NOW.

Sprouting Aids in the Digestion of the Beans.

Sprouting Provides Winter Cabin-Fever Reprieve.

Sprouting is SO Much Fun!

*You’ll need to do your own research on this. Some believe raw sprouts are a nutrient-dense food; others believe eating raw sprouts may be the cause of some illnesses and death outbreaks.

I’ll have to elaborate on these reasons in a future post. There is so much that can be said about sprouting beans; I just can’t easily fit it all into one post.

Pumpkin puree has center stage this time of year. There seems to be no limit to the ways pumpkin puree can be used: pumpkin pies, cakes, breads, drinks, and even body treatments.

Annually, pumpkin puree struts on stage like some kind of crazy peacock. All the while, the humble little pumpkin seeds sit quietly in the corner cheering and supporting them.

I felt sorry for the little guys, so today’s post is all about the pumpkin seeds. (Okay. Maybe a little too goofy.)

Here are 10 ways pumpkin seeds can be used.1. Pumpkin Seeds for Next Year’s Garden

To have your pumpkin seeds make more pumpkins next year, here’s what you do.

Before baking your pumpkin (if you like to bake it whole) remove the seeds. Thoroughly rinse the seeds to remove all pumpkin guts. Place the rinsed seeds, singled layered, on a paper towel. After an hour or so place them on a new dry paper towel. (We like to reuse our paper towels.) Depending on the room humidity, the seeds may take as little as one week to a few weeks to dry. Periodically check on them, and toss any moldy seeds. Once they’ve dried, place the seeds in a paper envelope to save for next spring’s garden.2. Baked Pumpkin Seeds

The flavors you can come up with for roasted pumpkin seeds are limited only by your imagination. If you can think of a spice you enjoy, then you’ll probably like pumpkin seeds with that spice.

I recently tried some cookies that had pumpkin or squash seeds in them. I had intended to bake my own special concoction, but we’ve had some oven issues. We now have a working oven, but you know how it goes. Too many things you want to do and not enough time.

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I recently baked my favorite pie, creamy apple pie. John allowed me the pleasure of eating the last slice last night.

It’s a family (John’s family) recipe, so I’m not bragging on myself when I say – WOW!!! It really is my favorite … that and elderberry-raspberry pie. As a matter of fact, the only two pie recipes on this site, so far, are those two pies.

Ask anyone who knows me well, and they’ll tell you that I get on these food “kicks” where I’ll eat my favorite food for months on end (or years for special sit-down restaurant favorites). Since I eventually find myself trying something new – every 5 years or so – I was glad to find so many amazing pie recipes from some of my favorite bloggers. Now the hard part will be finding my next two favorites out of this list of 14 amazing pie recipes.

The photos shown in this post are shown with permission from the bloggers.

1. Creamy Apple Pie (here on Your Gardening Friend) The “creamy” in this pie name comes from the heavy whipping cream used.

This recipe came about one afternoon when I was hungry for a salad, but I had no fresh picked lettuce in the house. DUN, DUN, dun!! {That’s scary music.} I could have simply walked up to the garden, but I decided not to take the long walk. (Our driveway is about the length of a football field.) Instead, I got creative with what was in the fridge. Cucumbers.

I honestly had no idea if the dish would taste disgusting or scrumptious. When the taste-testing moment of truth came, I was surprisingly pleased. I had never heard of sautéed cucumbers, which made the whole experience even more rewarding.

About a week later, I did a word search for sautéed cucumbers, and learned I was not the first to have had this idea. Although, I did not come across any recipes like mine, but I only looked at one or two recipes, just long enough to get a quick glance at one and see that other people had already thought of sautéing cucumbers.

Later that evening I made more for dinner. The dish was a hit. At least that’s how I would interpret, “Is there any more of the green goulash?”

By the way, if I share a recipe here, odds are, it will have 7-ish ingredients OR LESS. No matter how delicious a dish looks, if it has a grocery list of ingredients I usually pause, salivate over the photo, and then turn the page or click onward. I suppose there are always exceptions, so I’ll just say that’s the general rule of thumb here on Your Gardening Friend.Ingredients